10 Things to Look Out for When Recording A Podcast

According to the Edison Research Podcast Consumer Report of 2017, approximately 67 million people are monthly podcast listeners. If you want to stop just being a listener and become a storyteller, check out these 10 things to look out for when you are recording your podcast.

1. Content.

There are a lot of things to consider when starting a podcast. The first and probably most important thing however, is what you want to talk about. What is your passion and why do you want to share it with the world? Once you have your subject matter, you can start your journey in creating your content.

2. What is your something special?

Do you have a specific opinion that you are trying to share with the world? What makes your podcast different from any others out there? Are you using special equipment, special guests, or is there a specific storytelling aspect? Are you trying to target a specific age range or target group? Do you have the best chocolate chip cookie recipes and the best kitchen to make them in? This is going to be your hook that gets people sucked into listening, and keeps them coming back for more.

3. Demographic.

Demographic is a very important part when thinking about your podcast. Your demographic is your target market, who you want listening to your podcast, which will in turn affect how you talk. The Podcast Consumer Report of 2017 shows that the biggest consumers of podcasts were closely equally made up of three different age ranges: 18-34, 35-55 and then 55+. Now, while you don’t necessarily have to watch our language, these three different demographics are at completely different stages in their lives, with various cares and worries, so you must be careful when you are catering to these audiences.

4. Publishing.

There are lots of ways to publish a podcast. This also depends on your demographic. How are your audience’s listening to their content? One of the most popular ways to publish would be iTunes because of the universal aspect of it. All iPhone users have it installed on their phone, and you can download multiple episodes and listen on the go. Google Play is a great option for Android users as well. Soundcloud is another popular host that is also easily manageable, and if you are an artist that puts out other music, you can have everything on your own profile.

5. Guests and extras.

Your content will also affect any guests and surprises that you have in store for your listeners. What are their opinions on your content and what do they have to offer your audiences?

6. Microphone.

There are lots of things to consider when choosing a microphone. Once you have your content figured out, you can start to think about the equipment that you would need. You don’t have to go all out and spend $1,000 on a microphone right out of the gate, especially because you won’t be needing an expensive microphone when you start out. You can also check out this guide to podcast recorders.

7. Recording environment.

Your environment is an important detail when thinking about your podcast. Are you recording at your home, in your room, or outside? If your voice is a main part of the content and you are recording from home, try to find a nice, quiet time and place where you can record yourself and not have to worry about any background noise, like roommates roaming around the house. If you are going mobile or are hosting your podcast outside, finding a space where you can speak and not have strangers look at you like you’re crazy would be helpful as well. A nice stretch of grass in a local park might be helpful, where you can sit and talk and not worry about too much traffic and background ruckus.

8. Marketing to the world.

How are you going to market your podcast? This is in direct correlation to your target audience and where they spend their time. Teenagers and young adults, even moms and older relatives spend a hefty amount of time on social media, so think about setting up some separate accounts so that your friends and family can follow them and stay up-to-date.

9. How are you competing with others?

One of the greatest (and possibly most challenging) things about the accessibility to the world is that anyone and everyone can publish things on the Internet. This means that there is a ton of content on the Internet, and you have to make your stuff stand out in the crowd. If you want to make a podcast about music or history for example, what is that special something that you have that will attract people to it? What makes your podcast different from all the others out there?

10. Art and all the extras.

Another fun component to podcasts are the extra things, like the cover art. While your icon art would be one consistent image, you can make as much promotional content as you want to promote your podcast. Get your friends involved! Have them contribute graphics, photos and illustrations–not only does it promote your friends, but getting them involved will help promoting your podcast as well.